Panic
by mickytaka558
Summary: After the fight with Itachi, Sasuke doesn't come out of his room for days, but she cares too much about him to let him stay alone. Read & Review


**Panic**

by mickytaka558

* * *

It didn't pass much time after Sasuke's fight with Itachi and the whole Team Taka was resting in one of the Akatsuki hideouts that the masked man, Uchiha Madara offered to them.

It was a very big hideout, similar to one of Orochimaru's, so each member of the team could have their own room.

That evening was one of the _rare_ ones that was actually quiet. Everyone was in their rooms and there was absolutely no noise coming from there.

Juugo was sitting in a corner, even if there was a bed... But he preferred to be that way. He was used to it and it was hard for him to forget about everything that happened to him in the past and forget about his 'habits'.

Suigetsu on the other hand was siting on his bed, carefully cleaning his giant sword as he usually did every time he could. He really wanted to go to bother that red-haired bitch to cheer up, but that really wasn't the right moment to do that... Not after all that happened. He sure was a bastard - he didn't have problems to admit it - but he knew very well when it wasn't the right moment.

Karin was laying in her room, trying desperately to fall asleep, but her mind was totally messed up. She couldn't stop thinking about their leader. He didn't come out of his room for days. Many people would wonder if he really was still there, but she could be the one sure of it. His chakra was there... Weak, but present. She didn't know what was he doing there, and she had a strong need to find it out.

But it wasn't the right moment.

She kept feeling him...

He was upset.

He was probably still crying because of his brother, and it _hurt_. Not only him, but also her. The feelings she had for him were very strong... It wasn't just physical attraction anymore, like it _once_ was. More time she was with him, in his team, more were her feelings growing.

She wanted to go to him and try to do everything she could to make him calm down... She wanted to hug him, and not let him go until everything was fine again... She wanted to... Oh, she wanted to do so _many_ things to help him that she couldn't even remember them all, but she didn't have the courage to stand up from that damn bed to go to him. Her body seemed to be paralyzed.

How would he react if he saw her now?

It was hard for her to admit it, but she was afraid. She didn't know what would happen from now on, and she felt very uncomfortable. She felt a strong change in him, and she didn't know what to think anymore...

Suddenly, she heard a strong scream coming from his room and this time she didn't think twice: she stood up and walked to the door and opened it. She stepped out and looked around.

She saw Juugo and Suigetsu there. They also heard him and they came out too. Now, all three of them were looking towards his room worried. But none of them had the courage to go there to see if everything was okay.

He had changed to much since his brother's death and they didn't know what would happened if they went in right now.

She looked at the two boys for a second, and noticed one thing: Suigetsu, as he looked at her, shook his head slightly, as if he wanted to say: 'Don't go in there, Karin.' But she didn't want to do what he 'told' her, so she just turned around to look at Sasuke's room again. Both, Juugo and Suigetsu glanced at her one more time, before they both returned back in their rooms, closing the doors behind them.

She was alone with her thoughts again.

Was it a good idea to go to see him? What would he do? Would he hurt her? Or would he kill her without thinking twice?

She shook her head and decided to not care about any of those possibilities.

She took in a deep breath and then started to walk slowly towards_ that _door. Usually it would have taken her only a couple of seconds to reach it, but she moved so slowly, that an eternity seemed to pass.

When she was finally there, she put her hand on the handle... Yet, her body didn't seem to be able to find the strength to push it down and open the damn piece of wood that was preventing her to reach _him_. But when she heard the sound of his sobs coming out from that room, she finally opened the door and froze in an instant.

There he was, sitting on his bed, panting. His elbows were resting on his knees and his hands were covering his eyes. His body was shaking and Kami only knew how was he able to stay still in that position.

Karin took in a deep breath and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

He didn't seem to notice that she was there, but that didn't matter now. She walked slowly towards him and when she was a few steps away from him, she called his name softly.

Nothing.

He didn't react at all and she didn't have the strength to call him a second time. She moved hesitantly towards him again and then sat carefully on the mattress next to him.

Still nothing.

She moved her hand on his shoulder and noticed one thing. His muscles were extremely tensed and that, especially after the harsh battle he had not much time ago, wasn't good at all. He needed... He really needed to calm down, or it would end up badly for him.

She moved backwards and went behind him.

She slowly moved her hands on his shoulders and started slowly to massage him. Fortunately, he didn't have any clothes on, so she could treat him properly, without difficulty. Her hands massaged him strongly, but not enough to hurt him. They moved on his neck, and then on his arms and then her fingers passed on his spine...

The boy didn't show any reaction, but she could feel it in his chakra. It was pleasing him and calming him down. Her lips curved up in a small smile and she was glad that she could help him to relax at least a bit.

She kept doing it until she felt his muscles relaxing slightly and when she finally heard him sigh, she stopped and returned to sit properly next to him.

She looked at his face, trying to find his eyes, somewhere behind the locks of his hair, but that was impossible, since he still had his hands on his eyes. After a short while, she took in all her courage and put her hands on his wrists, and dared to move them away.

Surprisingly, she didn't find any resistance and, as what she wanted to see was finally visible, her eyes widened in shock.

His gaze was totally empty, and his eyes were red from all the tears he cried out. He had dark circles under them...

Well... Of course he did.

He didn't sleep for _days_, and she could confirm it. She was often awoken by his screams in the night.

He had nightmares and, because of them, he couldn't close an eye neither if he wanted it. It was crushing him. And it was crushing her too.

As she realized the state in which he was, her heart shattered and she couldn't hold herself back anymore: she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in a tight embrace.

In that moment, he seemed to awake. His eyes widened and he grabbed her arm, without pushing her away though.

"Karin."

She couldn't help but make a small smile, but it shattered as soon as he spoke again. "What are you doing here?" he whispered. She gulped and then hugged him even more, not wanting to answer. On the other hand, his grip on her arm tightened. "I asked what are you doing here!" he said louder. His voice was shattered and he felt relieved when she came inside the room – yes, he noticed it -, but he didn't want her to be with him.

_Not now_.

"I want to help you." she mumbled.

In that moment, he pulled away and looked away from her.

"Leave."

She gasped. "What?"

He looked at her, his Sharingan was active. "I told you to leave." he repeated. He wanted to scare her, even if she was the only one who was on his side in the hardest time of his life. But he didn't want to look weak.

She clenched her fists and bit her lip. "No." she said quietly. His eyes widened and he glared at her. "What?" She shook her head and told him again the same thing. "I said no." With that, she approached him again and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer and pressing herself on him. "I don't want to leave... Not knowing that you'd start to cry again." she whispered.

He was stunned by this. "Wh-"

"No. Don't talk, Sasuke. You already know the answer to your question." she told him and then moved her hand to caress his hair. He remained silent for a very long moment and then he finally let himself go, lowering his head and burying it in her shoulder.

She heard his sobs, and tried her best to not cry with him, because _that_ wasn't the right thing to do. She knew that right now, he needed somebody that was going to be strong... Somebody that could stay with him without being crushed by his emotions.

Somebody he could hold onto.

Her hands kept caressing him slowly, while he kept crying silently.

It lasted a lot. But Karin didn't move from there. She kept holding him until he pulled away on his own. He seemed to be calmer, but his eyes were red and she knew that what he was feeling wouldn't go away so soon.

She stood up and then made him lay down, grabbing then the sheets and covering him with them. She adjusted the pillow under his head and then caressed his cheek.

For the whole time, he didn't move his eyes off her. Why was she even caring that much about him? She had nothing to do with him and with what happened, so why? Why was her gaze so sad?

The moment she straightened up and turned around to leave, he grabbed her wrist tightly, not wanting to let go. She turned around to look at her, slightly surprised by the boy's action. "Sasuke? What is it?"

"_Stay_."

Her surprise continued to grow, but she didn't show it this time. She approached back the bed and stayed there. As he saw that she wasn't turned around anymore, he felt somehow... relieved. He felt that he could relax and he was slowly starting to feel that he was actually tired.

Karin kept watching down on him, but suddenly he spoke again: "You can lay on the bed."

She flinched. "I... There's no need for it."

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Yes, there is. If you're going to stay here for the whole night, you sure won't be standing on your feet for the whole time." he told her.

Her eyes widened. For the whole night? She thought that it would be only until he would fall asleep... but...

She slowly moved around the bed and laid on the other side. She pulled the covers to her waist and then rolled, so she was on her hip, facing the boy. He still had his eyes closed, but she knew that he wasn't sleeping yet.

At one moment, he rolled over too and wrapped his arm around her, making her blush very very slightly. Then, he moved closer and laid his head under her chin, so she could feel his breathing on her neck. She then realized that he still needed comfort, so she gave it to him: she wrapped her arm around him too and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. In response, he tightened his grip on her waist and sighed.

She couldn't help but make a small smile. "Sleep now, Sasuke." she whispered. She felt him nod against her and then his body went still. He fell asleep.

She started to caress his hair gently and at the same time, she tried to relax and fortunately she made it. She slowly closed her eyes and the sleep took over her, as soon as it did with him.

She was glad. Glad to be with him.

She sure was sad because of what happened to his brother, but she was glad, because he didn't reject her when she tried to help him. She knew the pain of losing family and unfortunately he did too.

In that moment, she swore to herself that she would help him. Not to forget, but to fill up that empty spot in his heart.


End file.
